1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a locking assembly for securing and sealing a spool of yarn, or the like, to a spindle. More particularly, the invention is an assembly which reliably secures a spool to a spindle during a dyeing operation and can be easily locked in place with respect to the spindle or removed from the spindle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to dye yarn or other extended fibrous materials, it is well known to submerge multiple spools of the material into dye kettles. The spools are placed on cylindrical dye tubes which are mounted on spindles which extend vertically in the dye kettle. After being loaded onto the spindles, the spools of yarn are compressed and held in place by a locking device commonly known as a "locknut". The dye tubes are hollow cylinders having a plurality of holes formed therein. The spindles are hollow or solid rods which may be threaded or notched at regular intervals.
The locknut holds the spools in a compressed state and also provides a seal over a top portion of the associated dye tube. Dye is then pumped through a lower portion of the dye tube at high pressure and thus is forced through the holes in the dye tube and into the spool of material at a high pressure. This allows the dye to permeate the entire spool of material in an even manner.
Recently it has become desirable to compress the spools to a higher degree to optimize the amount of material that can be dyed in a single operation. This requires that the dye be injected at a higher pressure. Accordingly, locknuts must provide a high degree of mechanical strength as well as a high degree of sealing with respect to the dye tube.
To provide adequate sealing, it is well known to provide separate end caps, or the like, below the locknut. These end caps are individually designed to adapt to a particular dye tube. U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,546 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,986 disclose examples of such devices. Also, conventional locknuts must be manually set in an unlocked position before being set on the spindle. Subsequently, such devices must be manually set to a locked position in order to secure the spools. This requires a great deal of labor and is not conducive to automation. Accordingly, conventional locknuts limit the efficiency of a dyeing process. Examples of such conventional devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,423,609, 3,731,502, and 3,481,165.